If a structure is occupied when hurricane panels are installed, it is necessary to have at least one opening where the hurricane protection system can be secured and removed from inside the structure. Furthermore, it is preferable, and mandatory in most jurisdictions, to have at least one alternate means of egress from the structure. Many jurisdictions require a means of egress from all bedrooms or at least more than one means of egress in new construction and new installations of hurricane panels. While other, more expensive hurricane protection systems such as accordion shutters can be opened and closed from the inside of a structure, hurricane panels typically can only be attached or removed from outside of the structure. However, the costs of other hurricane protection methods, such as accordion shutters, are often substantially more than basic hurricane panels, and are beyond the financial reach of many homeowners.
In recent years, many local governments in hurricane prone regions have mandated in their building codes that all new structures must have hurricane protection. Some coastal counties have further mandated that all structures, new or existing, have hurricane protection installed. Furthermore, most insurance companies either require or offer significant discounts for the installation of hurricane protection. Of the many approved hurricane protection products available, hurricane shutter panels are usually the most affordable. With the proliferation of hurricane protection products and the related government and insurance requirements, more people will install and rely on their hurricane protection. As a result, less people will evacuate and more people will stay in their homes during a storm. The incidence of fires during power failures is much higher as a result of the use of lamps and candles. As more people stay in shuttered homes during hurricanes, it is likely that more people will need egress from their homes in an emergency. While many local governments require installation of hurricane protection, they also require emergency egress. While the most popular and affordable, approved means of hurricane protection is hurricane panels, one major draw-back of hurricane panels is that they can usually only be installed and removed from the outside of a structure. Other systems for providing hurricane protection such as roll down or accordion shutters, and high impact glass, which can be opened and closed from inside a building, are substantially more expensive than hurricane shutter panels. The instant invention solves this problem by facilitating the quick release of hurricane shutter panels from inside a structure with minimal additional costs. The system works in conjunction with industry standard hurricane hardware and installation methods and provides an affordable solution to creating emergency egress through openings protected by hurricane shutter panels.
When mounting hurricane panels utilizing this invention, at least one panel or series of panels covering a window or door opening is mounted in a way that allows the panel(s) to be securely mounted, yet be removed from the inside of the protected structure. This permits egress from the structure through openings normally blocked when hurricane panels are installed. Typically, only one door opening is the primary means of egress from the structure. Enabling the removal of hurricane protection from the inside of the structure usually involves more expensive hurricane protection products such as accordion shutters. While it is desirable to have more than one means of egress in case the primary means of egress becomes unusable, many home or business owners choose to use the much more affordable hurricane panel rather than alternate approved protection systems which often cost five to fifteen times as much per square foot as panels. The present invention seeks to overcome these limitations by providing a hurricane panel mounting system and method that can be used in conjunction with industry standard installation techniques. The invention described herein permits hurricane panels, mounted with or without mounting track, to be securely fastened yet removed from within the structure. The system and method of the present invention may, for example, work with standard installation tracks and accessories, as well as existing direct mount systems, and is typically reusable.
Industry Standard Methods of Attaching a Hurricane Panel or Protective Cloth to a Structure
Female Hardware—Anchors recessed into the wall of a structure with a threaded female opening for receiving a bolt. Examples are machine screw anchors, Sammys®, female Panelmates and female inserts.
Male Hardware—Studs screwed into a wall with the male threaded end protruding for receiving a wing nut. Examples are Tapcon SG™, male Panelmates, Panelmate Plus SS, Panelmate Pro and TVAS Anchors.
H-Header or U-Header/Channel Track—One end of panels, often the top, as installed, typically slide into the channel in these types of track. H-Header or U-Header/Channel track are typically used at one end of an opening (typically the top) with Studded Angle Track, F-Track or Male/Female methods of attachment being used at the other end of the opening (typically the bottom). This is useful for minimizing the number of wing nuts which must be used to attach the hurricane shutter panels thus simplifying and speeding up the installation process. Build out U-Header has an extension which extends the track channel away from the surface of the structure. Build-out H-Header is typically used with openings which require the channel to be spaced away from the wall to clear copings or window sills.
Studded Angle Track—The panels are attached to knurled bolts which are pressed into the track. Studded angle track is typically attached to the wall of the structure or to a step or sidewalk which may abut the structure.
F-Track—In standard installations of hurricane panels, the panels are attached to F-Track utilizing specialized track bolts (or regular hex bolts) which slide in and out of the bolt channel in the F-Track, allowing flexibility of panel mounting locations and the track bolts to be removed when not in use. Wing nuts are typically used to attach the panels to the track bolts. Build-out F-Track has an extension which extends the F-Track channel away from the surface of the structure. Build out F-Track is for use with openings which require the F-Track channel to be spaced away from the wall, for example when the space is necessary to clear a coping or window sill. In the present invention, the panels are attached to quick cars which themselves have a protruding track channel and which when in use are placed in the F-Track channel in place of track or hex bolts